The draft AI is terrible!!!

[satyadaimoku]

OK, so I'm in round 23 of my first draft here and the AI is so horrendous I'm literally going to walk away from this game forever.

Basically, every single team chose one starting position player at each position and then proceeded to use their next 12-13 draft picks on starting pitchers. The result of which is that my bullpen is literally the best bullpen ever assembled, with 5 star relievers still available as teams instead use all their picks on terrible starters.

This is ridiculous. Is there some kind of modification that can be made to this to make the AI not obviously terrible?

[Lukas Berger]

It's probably a waste of time to respond to this, but I'm going to do so anyway.

You might want to understand how the game, ratings and ai actually work before making assumptions based on limited knowledge, jumping to conclusions and making posts like this.

Try actually playing out a season first, and seeing just how your fare with you "greatest bullpen" ever but with with awful SP's. Then if you still have a problem, try posting again, only with more information at your disposal.

[actionjackson]

Holy Hyperbole Batman!

[satyadaimoku]

My starting rotation is great. 3+ stars from each of the top 4. It's not prioritizing starter number 5 or even starter number 6 that I find insane. It's prioritizing starter number 12 over relief pitcher number two.

I just drafted a pitcher whose scouting report says he is "one of the best relief pitchers in baseball". In round 26. He'll be starting the season in AAA.

Absurd.

[bwburke94]

Yes, the AI can be modified. Perhaps it has too much of a weight on ratings, which would cause them to see mid-tier SPs as better than ace relievers.

[wodi]

It's funny I don't even play ootp just the mobile version but I know exactly what he's talking about.

It's a coding issue..... The AI values starters over relievers by a ton, add in the mix that, at least in the mobile version, they generate wayyyyyyyy too many starters and not enough relievers.

It's a coding thing.

[Texasborn]

Can confirm Wodi. On Mobile at least, the AI leaves 5* MR Intill the 5 round. Think it has something to do with stamina.

[aslanking]

Play the game before posting your comments. It just comes off uninformed.

[MBarrett]

You could always place some "house rules" on yourself if you feel that strongly about it. Don't pick any relievers until the other teams start to do it. Same thing with elite prospects.

[HuachucaThunder]

The ratings will not make your staff and bullpen the "greatest" ever. I just recently built a fictional league with the scout "rating" on normal and had the AI draft my team.
My top 3 starters are as follows based on current & potential rating at draft time:
Earl Starrett- 5/5 stars (after 10 starts he is 1-7 with an era over 5.5)
Jerome Oliver- 5/5 stars (after 10 starts he is 2-5 with an era over 6)
Hollis Cook- 5/5 stars (after 8 starts he is 0-6 with an era pushing 6)

My highly rated relievers based on same current & potential rating at draft time:
Filip Ek- 5/5 stars ( after 9 appearances: 1-1 1 save with an era around 5)
Chris Hill (Closer)- 4/5 stars ( after 7 appearances: 0-1 4 blown saves era over 6)
Tim Tillman- 4/5 stars (after 7 appearances: 0-2 era over 5)
Overall team era after 50 games is over 5.50
Overall team average after 50 games is under .230 ( this also includes a lineup where the lowest rated starter is 3 out of 5 stars.

If your scouting is not very high or 100%, then you are going to have the "fog of war" issue. Which makes the game much more interesting. I would say play the game out and see how it develops over the course of a season. Make sure, if you do play the season out, pay attention to the development updates and see how the players may decline over the course of the season.
I have found out in the many versions that I have played, just because you have the highest rated players, does not mean they will perform at that expected level for their career. The AI most likely will make adjustment starting with the first game played and throughout the season.

[mclowman]

In real life, teams value starters way more than relievers. I admit I haven't done a whole lot of research, but I have a very hard time naming a lot of players who were relievers in high school or college and were drafted early. A significant percentage of relievers, if not a majority, spent at least some time in the minors as starters. Even guys who were always relievers professionally were often starters as amateurs. In other words, the AI's got the right idea.

[Bobble]

I think we're talking about the inaugural draft, right? We don't have a lot of real life examples to compare to. However, I've done a number of inaugural drafts. I find them fun. The AI does emphasize starting pitching in the first 15 rounds but that's by no means the only players it will pick.

[rjl518]

if you think that all you need is pitching....check out my Meet the Mets dynasty...a HOF pitching and bullpen staff....eight playoff appearances...ONE World Series title...
I have Bobby Cox syndrome...

[NoOne]

yeah, the only problem with the inaugural draft is its predictible outcome. the truer the scouting accuracy the worse it is. even with normal scouting, you can just about make a roadmap as far as when to select certain positions to maximize value.

the superstars are well distributed, but as the draft goes along, it's easier to predict. with real players it's that much easier. e.g. i know you can wait until the early 20's before getting the closer of your choosing. with fictional, i assume it's a bit earlier due to less depth.

i can't remember if i've done a fictional inaugural draft before. i bet it has a bit more variation who is drafted where.

[NoOne]

Originally Posted by rjl518

if you think that all you need is pitching....check out my Meet the Mets dynasty...a HOF pitching and bullpen staff....eight playoff appearances...ONE World Series title...
I have Bobby Cox syndrome...

just bad luck. i bet some factors were grossly out of proportion compared to average in the few games played for the world series while scaled to WS opposing team.

did you keep a backup before that team went on its run(s)? even better if there is one before each year begins.

run through those years with minimal effort/time spent and see what happens for the h*ll of it. you may or may not get 8 appearences, but it's a good bet you get more than 1 WS.

[TGH-Adfabre]

I have done roughly 10 inaugural drafts. The AI has some problems with them. I think the reliever issue is one of them but more than that I do not think the AI "knows" how to build an organization or understands the concept of sacrificing. I find it very easy to build the top minor leagues by 400 "points" (in the Top Minors Report) and still be highly competitive in year 2 of the league.
I have seen the problem the OP is talking about. I do not think the AI properly assess the value of a #11 SP vs a top MR. It is not isolated to one AI organization, it seems to be universal. I find it very easy to build a top rated (no scouts) bullpen late in the draft when the AI is selecting 20/20 SP that will need 3-4 talent bumps to make the majors.
I think the problem is coding the AI to see the organization and "know" when to take talent at a less important position.

[NolaSola7]

Originally Posted by Texasborn

Can confirm Wodi. On Mobile at least, the AI leaves 5* MR Intill the 5 round. Think it has something to do with stamina.

I think there is purpose here..

Not every SP in the draft pool is a SP in the pro ranks.... these are draft picks.... when you actually break them down... you'll find that many of those SPs are better suited in the bullpen ....

[Texasborn]

True ..... There is few good SP in any given class. There is often 1.5 to 3* SP that are utter crap. However .... There is still very good MR that at the very least should be drafted in rounds 2-3.

[hfield007]

if the AI has enough starting pitching talent they put them in their major league bullpen where starters become better due to the bump in stuff and the near elimination of stamina... at least in every game i ever played.

[Markus Heinsohn]

Well, it just depends on your personal preference. I'd never draft a reliever prior to round 7, and my #3 reliever probably not before round 15. The AI acts similar... I could easily change this, but I am not so sure this is a good idea.

Edit: OK, I fine-tuned the AI in this area for OOTP 17 Relievers now get picked a bit earlier & more.